Rating: 
Summary: Okay
Review: I was waiting patiently for this book to come out after having read the House trilogy. When I got it, I finished it pretty quick because there is a lot of action and some interesting ideas. It was extremely easy to read and follow. However, I cannot help feeling that they did not hit the mark with this book. They were supposed to be taking us back in time in the Dune Universe to that pivotal time 10 000 years prior to the events of Dune. Somehow, they did not capture the mysticism of this legendary time. Truthfully, this book could have been written to stand on its own just by changing the characters' names and getting rid of the sandworms. It almost seems like they wrote it so that they could fill in the important preceding events with another series. Despite its grandiose title, The Butlerian Jihad, which was alluded to tantalizingly in Frank Herbert's novels, this book did not live up to my expectations in terms of developing the mythology and legends of Dune. But, being a die hard Dune fan, I did not regret buying it and will buy the upcoming novels in the series.
Rating: 
Summary: A realistic look at the book
Review: Some people love BH/KJA's books, some hate them. I fall somewhere in the middle, leaning towards "love". :o)Don't approach this or the other prequels thinking they will be just like Frank Herbert's books, because they aren't. For one thing, the writing is simpler. It's much more easily approachable. There were times reading Frank Herbert's books where I would have to re-read a passage, thinking "What's he saying here?" SPOILER ALERT: Do not read below if you don't want a part of the story given away. One very neat part of the story is what I suspect will be the explanation of what the Honored Matres are running from in Heretics and Chapterhouse. It just so happens that Omnius creates thousands of robotic "droids" (for lack of a better word) that it then sends out into the farthest parts of the galaxy. These "droids" contain copies of Omnius and are programmed to construct a fully functioning version of Omnius once they reach a suitable planet. Thus, Omnius literally infects the vast majority of the galaxy, with humanity concentrated in one basic area. (Once Leto II dies and humanity explodes outward in the Scattering, they then encounter Omnius, which they thought they had destroyed so many thousands of years prior in the Butlerian Jihad.) Also, the robots are constructed of what is called "flowmetal", which they can morph into various facial features. I would guess they are what the Honored Matres are referring to when they mention "the enemy of many faces". My biggest complaint with the BH/KJA books is that they don't have the literary finesse of Frank Herbert's books. However, this isn't necessarily a bad thing as I mentioned above how Frank's works are sometimes hard to read. Not so with BH/KJA. All-in-all, a very good book. You may agree, you may disagree. I for one am looking forward to the next book in this series.
Rating: 
Summary: Very Disappointing
Review: In the last year I have read all of the Dune novels. The original series first, followed by the prequels and I can honestly say that after reading 200 pages of the Butlerian Jihad I will not be reading any more. If, like myself, hoped that after finishing the original series hoped to find some continuity in the prequels, then you will not. A lot of the time I found myself becoming more and more frustrated with the inaccuracies to the original books and the Butlerian jihad continues this tradition. Have Herbert and Anderson read the original Dune Novels??? I don't think so! I also found the writing style to be under par at best. Anderson and Herbert continuely explain everything thereby destroying and sort of suspense or drama, as they give the result of a situation away before the end. i.e. The attack of Geidi Prime... If you want to read something similar to Dune i recomend any of Frank Herberts original works, i.e. Dosadi Experiment (which incidently probably creates a world, which is a lot closer to the original Dune series than anything produced by Anderson and Herbert) Overall terrible!
Rating: 
Summary: disappointing
Review: This book, in addition to the story behind the Butlerian Jihad, was supposed to give the origins of the Bene Gesserit, Mentats, Suk, swordmasters, and Guild, at least according to the inside front cover. Unless my copy was missing some pages, it barely touches on the precursors to the BG. The book is also supposed to explain the betrayal between Houses Harkonnen and Atreides. It seems to explain it away as a misunderstanding that is later resolved. So, is there another betrayal later, after the Houses are actually formed?? This book doesn't remotely live up to its potential. They probably just wanted to make some more money. They must write another one to resolve the above issues.
Rating:
Summary: As good as can be expected
Review: When I saw the movie for the first movie of The Lord of the Rings, I expected little and was unduly impressed. Somehow, I am unable make that mindset with books. Frank Herbert created a complex universe with intricate story lines. His son and Mr. Anderson do not emulate his style, which is fine. However, they take grandiose liberties with their characters. To be blunt, they have too many heroes. Almost every character seems mythical in their own time. This is in large part because they are tackling the difficult prequel. The Star Wars saga is seeing the same difficulty. It is extremely difficult to create surprises when the audience knows what happens in the long run. My hope is that Mr. Herbert and Mr. Anderson are using these books as a means to perfecting a writing technique for the final book in the Dune series.
Rating:
Summary: Brian Herbert is no Frank Herbert
Review: I almost shelled out [money] for this, instead of waiting to check out a copy at the library. I'm glad I waited. Mostly disappointing. It started losing credibility when the robots and thinking machines were described as nonemotional, logical and unable to understand humans. Intelligent machines created by human beings will probably resemble human beings (see Hofstaders "Godel, Escher, Bach"). Erasmus was nasty, but not at all believable. The Titans were ridiculous. The sorceress of Rossak who is a main character is wooden in her obsessiveness. The only particularly interesting part of this book was the sections which describe the Zensunni on Arrakis. If you must read this book, wait for a copy at your library. Then dig out your copy of "Dune" and reread it, and the "Dune Encyclopedia" if you have it. Much more interesting.
Rating:
Summary: Gods Below!!! THIS IS NOT DUNE.
Review: The Dune universe should have been left alone. Thankfully none of what Herbert & Anderson could possibly contrive in their feeble attempt at "continuing Frank Herbert's legacy" could ruin or take away from the original six novels. The Dune trilogy is a feat of literature, imagination and Science. To churn out this rubbish at 12 month intervals is disgraceful. Especially when you consider that Frank Herbert spent 6 years writing the original and first Dune novel. Brian Herbert has disgraced his father's legacy. Dune was better left alone. The plot is gossamer thin. The literary and grammatical structure is is exceedingly poor. Ironically, it is like a "thinking machine" churned out this rubbish without trying to understand what Frank Herbert was trying to do and what he was trying to achieve. ABSOLUTELY no attempt has been made in any of the "new" novels (especially this one)to mimic Frank's writing style or finesse in any way. Characters are ordinary with only a single dimension, while there is almost no plot let alone a plot-within-a-plot-within-a-plot as is Frank Herbert's style in the Dune Series. Unquestionably though, Herbert and Anderson have access to Frank's notes and ideas. These two feeble minded writers of pulp could not have contrived the underlying concept behind this book alone. Frank's genius is in there somewhere. Unfortunately we only see it through a weakly developed plot and set of characters around a great concept which undoubtedly belonged to Frank Herbert. Dune lovers will absolutely be appalled with this book and others from the Herbert & Anderson collection.
Rating: 
Summary: The mysteries behind the history
Review: The world of Frank Herbert is still alive. It was always tantalizing to hear the author and characters refer to the past in the original Dune series. Now the details have come out of the background. While I enjoyed the prequel series that was recently put out, the scope of the books was hardly up to the standards of the original series. On the other hand, this book paints a broad stroke, dealing with all levels of society and how the Dune universe came about. The book is full of revelations of the genesis of the different niches of Frank Herbert's society. The characters and storylines draw you in for 600 engrossing pages. If you have no experience with the world of Frank Herbert you will find this to be a great work of science fiction, well put together, with enticing plot and characters. But be warned if you are familiar with the world of Dune, you may have trouble going to sleep, leaving for work, and finding time to eat until you are done. Now it will take patience to get to next year when the second installment arrives. Thank you Frank for leaving behind those valuable notes.
Rating:
Summary: boring
Review: Well, if you ask me, the Herbert/Anderson team aren't doing a very good job with Frank Herbert's legacy. The characters don't have any depth, and the plotting isn't much above Buck Rogers. You'd think that Brian Herbert would have learned something about developing complex novels from his dad. Even more bothersome, is that they don't seem to be following the clues about the Old Empire that Frank Herbert dropped here and there. And I don't know how much of the Dune Encyclopedia had Frank Herbert's imprint, but the characters of Butler, Holtzman, etc. directly contradict what's in the Dune Encyclopedia. Don't waste your money on this book until it comes out in paperback...
Rating:
Summary: Quality Review
Review: Plain and simple this is a very entertaining book. I haven't read the other three prequels, but comparing this book to the original Dune series is ridiculus. These two writers aren't and don't even come close to Frank Herbert. However this book does have its own qualities. This is a book made for a larger audience, but a serious Dune fan can find a way to appreciate what it adds to the Herbert Universe. Interesting Points: two charaters who seem to be the first Harkonnen and Atreides as we know them, introduction of spice to the empire, history of Fremen mythos, Holtzman technology, among others.
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